PHTA Announces 2024 Scholarship Recipients
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance announced the recipients of the 2024 PHTA Scholarship: Richard Hauser, Cecilia Oseguera, Egan Barzilay and Kaitlyn Forney. The scholarship provides funding for PHTA-certified professionals or their immediate family members to put toward college tuition.
This year’s essay prompt asked applicants to propose how they would use $25,000 annually for five years to create a community program focused on preventing drowning incidents, especially among children, by developing effective strategies to enhance water safety awareness and practices.
Richard Hauser and Cecilia Oseguera received the $2,000 scholarship for the 2024-25 academic year.
Hauser attends the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, where he is majoring in cybersecurity management and computer science. He is a Certified Pool & Spa Operator and the head lifeguard at a local aquatic facility, where he is responsible for water testing, reporting and training. He is also a competitive swimmer passionate about aquatics and water safety. Hauser’s scholarship essay outlined a detailed five-year plan for developing an affordable swim lesson program at community pools with the slogan “Swim S.A.F.E.,” with “safe” being an acronym for “smart, aware, fun, educated.”
Oseguera attends Warren Wilson College, where she is double majoring in sociology/anthropology and global studies, with a minor in Spanish. Oseguera is the daughter of Jose Oseguera, who is a Certified Pool & Spa Service Technician and Certified Builder Professional through PHTA. She has worked as a construction assistant and an assistant retail manager at JDO Pools and Spas. In her scholarship essay, Oseguera suggested a new piece of legislation for her home state of Virginia to create mandatory water safety courses for middle and high school students. She also recommended strengthening relationships between schools and aquatic facilities like YMCAs and leveraging the power of social media to raise community awareness of water safety and drowning prevention.
Egan Barzilay from Duke University and Kaitlyn Forney from Iowa State University received a $1,000 scholarship for the 2024-25 academic year. Both are children of CPO instructors. Barzilay’s essay focused on developing a free swim lesson program for low-income families that would teach children and adults. Forney’s essay highlighted the importance of preventative measures to reduce the number of drowning incidents.
This year’s recipients were recognized during an awards ceremony at the 2025 World Aquatic Health Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. To learn more about the PHTA Scholarship Program, visit phta.org/education-and-events/grants-and-scholarships/scholarships/.
